There’s a definite autumnal ‘back to school’ feel in the air which makes me feel like I need to get myself organised. I have a lot coming up in terms of sorting my home & work spaces and so it feels good to take some time to catch up with things on this blog before becoming completely re-immersed in it all.
I’ve been looking back over the summer and thinking about what a great pleasure it was to take part in the group show ‘Always On My Mind’ at the Fitzrovia Gallery in London at the end of July. The show was curated by artist Harry Pye and raised funds for the National Brain Appeal charity. More details about the show and Harry’s thinking behind it can be read here:
The National Brain Appeal raises much-needed funds for The National Hospital of Neurology and Neurosurgery and the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology. The National Hospital is one of the world’s leading centres for the diagnosis, treatment and care of patients with a wide range of neurological and neuromuscular conditions including stroke, multiple sclerosis, brain cancer, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, migraine and dementia.
‘Always on my Mind’ included the work of 16 artists:
Magda Archer, Gordon Beswick, Sasha Bowles, Nick Cave, Billy Childish, Matthew Collings, Alice Herrick, Corin Johnson, James Johnston, Francis Macdonald, Kate Murdoch, Carson Parkin-Fairley, Harry Pye, Elena-Andreea Teleaga, Twinkle Troughton and Tracey Williams.
The work ranged from collage, drawing, installation, photography, painting, prints to sculpture.
The title of the exhibition came from the name of an Elvis Presley song that was number one 50 years ago. As well as the obvious link to the Elvis song, Harry also asked those participating to think about issues that were frequently on their own minds.
Female identity is one of the themes I return to again and again in my work and I submitted two pieces, featuring women, ‘Meat Too’ and ‘Reflection.’ Both pieces refer to ‘good’ women – women compelled to conform to what society expects of them. I wrote this about the work when I was ready to submit it:
‘A lot of the work I make addresses the different ways in which women, through the male gaze and objectification, are often judged by how they look and how they behave. I’m fascinated by the inevitable restrictions this imposes on women – living our lives under scrutiny, constantly reminded of ‘knowing our place’ and often unable to exist freely or be our true authentic selves.
This inequality between the lives of women versus men is something I’ve been acutely aware of from a young age and continues to be an issue I think about a lot. As well as addressing these issues on a personal level, ‘Meat Too’ and ‘Reflection’ open up opportunities for a response from a wider audience and invite further social and political debate around gender and women’s place in society.’
Below are images of the two pieces of work I submitted for the ‘Always on my Mind’ show. For further photos of the opening night, here’s a link to Harry’s Rebel Magazine blog:
http://therebelmagazine.blogspot.com/2022/07/photos-from-opening-party-of-always-on.html
‘Meat Too’ – Kate Murdoch 2022
‘Reflection’ – Kate Murdoch 2022
